1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to electrical power distribution and more particularly, to methods and apparatus for distributing electrical power to computer systems in computer facilities.
2. Description of the Related Art
Organizations such as on-line retailers, Internet service providers, search providers, financial institutions, universities, and other computing-intensive organizations often conduct computer operations from large scale computing facilities. Such computing facilities house and accommodate a large amount of server, network, and computer equipment to process, store, and exchange data as needed to carried out an organization's operations. Typically, a computer room of a computing facility includes many server racks. Each server rack, in turn, includes many servers and associated computer equipment.
Because the computer room of a computing facility may contain a large number of servers, a large amount of electrical power may be required to operate the facility. In addition, the electrical power is distributed to a large number of locations spread throughout the computer room (e.g., many racks spaced from one another, and many servers in each rack). Usually, a facility receives a power feed at a relatively high voltage. This power feed is stepped down to a lower voltage (e.g., 110V). A network of cabling, bus bars, power connectors, and power distribution units, is used to deliver the power at the lower voltage to numerous specific components in the facility. The number and length of conductors for required for a computer room can create substantial inefficiencies in power delivery to the components, specifically in the form of heat dissipated from the conductors. In addition, the amount of current any one wire can carry is limited by the size of the wire, insulation characteristics, and other factors.